I shoveled a foot of snow to get to the sidewalk this morning. I called the plow guy to clear the back of the driveway. A second trip to move snow happened when I went out to clear the pile from the end of that plow push. I chose to clear around the side of the house and the back porch. Memories flooded into my mind as I was out shoveling the second time. Unwanted news arrived today.
I had a phone call when in an appointment and by the time I got home I had 1 missed call, 2 messages and 1 text on cell and two messages on house phone -- an unheard of amount of activity on either phone for a couple of weeks to say nothing of in a single day. Two calls and one voice mail were from my cousin's spouse who called to note that she had passed. The communication he'd requested didn't happen so I never heard of this event until today -- almost a year later. I'm feeling very sad about the news. We were together for most of our childhood, teen years and always chatted as adults. I didn't get my birthday e-mail last fall but then I didn't send her one either. My holiday greetings were Valentine cards, so my contact was late.
She was part of all but 6 weeks of my life -- and I didn't let her forget that I was older -- when we were much younger, of course. <smile> I recall picking holes in hot loaves of bread at my grandmother's. we were about 3 years old and could just reach the top of the counter where gramma let the loaves cool. My cousin was a force -- a strong female role model for women in science. She told stories much like I do -- in excruciating detail <grin>, and I loved hearing her retelling of events -- often with a helathy dose of sarcasm. Her skill sets were wide and varied. She could fix or build anything needed, made wonderful handiwork and quilting projects, and taught many grad students how to -- and not to -- work in research labs. I loved her laugh -- which was sort of a giggle. She loved animals and many years ago was instrumental in me finding a wonderful cat companion after my other furry friend of 14 years had passed. It is going to take some time to grasp that she is gone. <sigh>
A song for such a day brought a number to mind, but one title and lyric line explained best how I feel today. Keep safe. Enjoy!
Hole in the world -- The Eagles
No comments:
Post a Comment